The Great War
by Borador90
Summary: The war in outland has spread to Azeroth now. Now all the races of Azeroth, even the Lich King, is taking a stand against the demonic horde. The world as we know it is about to change, but whether if it's for the best or worst, you'll have to read. RxRplz
1. Prologue

The Great War

Prologue

The war with Illidan had been raging for many years now. Seven entire years of war and savagry had consumed the Outlands. Now tired of war, the Alliance and the Horde fought hard together, as if they had never had a grudge against one another. However, Illidan's forces didn't seem to be getting smaller. The demons were virtually numberless. Their hunger for death caused them to fight harder and harder. The war now titled "The Great War" by the soliders, was now spreading into Azeroth as well. Illidan's most powerful servants, the Illidari Council, had opened two new portals into Azeroth. One was opened up at the top of Mount Hyjal, for the powers of the late Archimonde still tainted the place. The other was believed to be opened up in Blackrock Mountain, for demons now poured out all over the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes. The rumors of the Black Dragon Flight making a deal with Illidan were proving to be true, not only by the portal in Blackrock, but also because demons were now utilizing dragons as tools of war. Deathwing, leader of the Black Dragon Flight, was also alledgedly spotted near heavy demon infestations. Whispers of spies that were working for the legion were common. People were accepting bribes to give information to the demons. If caught, the traitors were killed on sight. King Wrynn made sure to that. To add to all of this mayhem, Arthas Menethil was now concerning himself with this war. If Illidan succeeded in invading Azeroth, that would endager Arthas' power. Some whispered that Arthas and Illidan had some past fued, though no one knew the truth of it. In just a few years, war had broken out in every corner of Azeroth and Outland. Never was there a war when all the mortal races, the dragons, the demons, and the undead had been involved.

In Stormwind, young Anduin Wrynn had reached his eighteenth birthday. He was now leading the allied forces in Outland. He left the city of Stormwind under the care and control of Lady Katrana Prestor. She always had the best interest of Stormwind in her heart. Bovar Fordragon and General Marcus Jonathan were leading the rest of the allied forces in Azeroth. Their main goal was to destroy the new portals as quickly as possible. The dwarves of Ironforge had contributed troops more than anything else in this struggle against the Burning Legion. They crafted armor and weapons for the allies to use during the battles. The gnomes contributed mainly to the protection of Ironforge while the dwarven armies were gone. They had already lost too many in their fight for Gnomeragon. The night elves, as usual, were hesitant to enter another war with the Burning Legion. With the opening of the portal on Mount Hyjal, however, they decided it was for their own good to protect themselves, to the least.

The Horde seemed to be having troubles of their own. Cairne Bloodhoof, chieftan of the taurens, was asassinated in his sleep near the beginning of the war. His son, Baine Bloodhoof, was to be the new chieftan of the tribes. However, some did not think that he was fit enough to have such a responsibility. Talkoj Bloodhoof, nephew of Cairne, was very loyal to his leader. Before he died, Talkoj promised his chieftan that he would follow Baine no matter what. With the armies of Thunderbluff under his control, more people seemed to be silent about their objections. The blood elves seemed to be hit the hardest from the war. Since the opening of the new portals, the blood elves soon found out that their leader, Kael' Thas Sunstrider, was in fact working for Illidan. At first, the leaders of Silvermoon had trouble controlling the outcries, but they finally came to a unified resolve. Kael' Thas must pay for his crimes. Working with demons is of the greatest crimes one could committ. Not even a king was excused of that.

But this story does not revolve around the heroic Alliance, or the warlike Horde. It is in fact about a Dranei that is not affiliated with either of them. Bariathas, leader of Thunderheart Village, will be forced to face the evil that destroyed his homeworld. A chance to avenge his people from the evil that killed countless dranei. He is about to go on a journey of which the likes he's never been on.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Father, Son, Master, and Servant

Zangarmarsh. To some it was an overgrown forest of fungus. To others, such as the people of Thunderheart Village, it was home. The people of Thunderheart had been living in the swamps for many generations. They made their way through the years from harvesting mushrooms, hunting for food, to even being the village healer. All the people of Thunderheart worked together to make survival possible. Every great village, must also have a great leader. The son of the old leader, was Bariathas. He was a shaman like his father before him. Bariathas was by far the most successful leader the village had in many years. Even though he was younger than normal, he had sharp mind for economic, military, and social solutions. When the village was in a food shortage, he showed them how to gather mushrooms more efficiently. When in times of no mushroom growth at all, he asked the spirits to guide him to a fresh source of food. They often lead him to lakes with bountiful amounts of fish, or more fertile land to start farming. His shamanistic abilities helped him deal with dangers to his people as well. He could defeat opponents that seemed much stronger than him. Once, he and the village militia stopped a group of heavily armed naga from stealing their crops. But even when Bariathas was not leading the village, he was leading his own family at home. He lived there with his wife and son. His wife was the village priestess. Because she was so highly skilled in her art, she was often called to other villages around Zangarmarsh. She hardly had any time to spend with her family. Their son Velen, whom as named after his grandfather Velen the Prophet, was unlike his father. He lacked the basic shamanistic abilities that his bloodline had. Instead, he just trained himself highly in the arts of melee combat.

The sun rose over the far mountains of Blade's Edge. Zangarmarsh seemed to come alive. Bariathas stepped out of his hut and peered around the foggy weather. He watched as lights began to come on inside other huts around the village. The village was about to begin another day. Suddenly he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

"Morning dad," a voice said behind him. Bariathas turned to see his sons face. Velen lazily wiped his face, trying to wipe away the fatigue that covered it.

"Good morning, my son", Bariathas said. "Today will be a great day for you, you're finally old enough to be in the militia." Bariathas patted him on the back and turned around to face him. "We will begin the ceremony in the village center when you're ready."

"So, let me get this straight. I have to fight the militia captain, and based off of my fight, he will announce whether I'm ready or not?" Velen did not seemed amused by being told if he was good enough or not.

"Do not let it bother you, son. You're skills are far greater than any other boy I've seen this far. I'm sure you'll do fine." Bariathas turned from his son, and walked towards the center of the village. "Meet me and the others there when you're ready to begin."

Velen grabbed his gear, and ran out to the center of the village. People had already gathered here. The chieftain's son against the captain of the militia was rumored to be the best trial fight yet. People had even started placing bids on the outcome. He then watched as the crowd parted and a large dranei walked into the center of the ring. His ebony armor with gold trimming looked so well crafted with the sun's light hitting it.

"Velen, son of Bariathas, are you ready to begin your test?", said the voice form underneath the helm. "Once we begin, there will be no breaks, no time-outs, or anything of the sort. Just you and me in a game to defeat."

"I was born ready, old man" Velen said with a sardonic tone. Velen seemed to be the only one who never understood that pride always came before the fall. He ran at the captain with amazing speed, the likes of which none of the dranei had never seen. He swung up at his opponent, but to his amazement, as well as everyone else's, The captain easily moved to the side and tripped his opponent with his leg. Velen got up quick and spun to see his opponent. "Lucky dodge. It won't happen again." He suddenly felt a presence he never felt before. He felt stronger, and faster. He didn't know what was happening, and he didn't care. He ran at the guard even faster now, with the sword aimed at his neck. Then suddenly, it got cold, and Velen couldn't help but passing out.

He awoke to find himself in the tribal council hut. He was lying in the middle of them, but his movements were bound by a spell of some sort.

"Velen, son of Bariathas." said a deep voice. Velen turned to see who it was, but only saw a dark visage underneath a black hood. "You have been called to the council on charges of treason."

Velen could hardly believe what he had just heard. "On what grounds?", he asked angrily. He could not believe this was even happening.

"The use of dark magic to kill another member of Thunderheart Village."

At that same time, on the other side of Outland, Illidan was planning out his war. He paced back and forth across the room, contemplating the new problem that now faced him. According to the reports, the Alliance and the Horde were now working together to defeat his armies. They were supposed to just keep fighting each other. It made it harder to win if they had to fight on multiple fronts. To add to this problem, rumors of Arthas' entry to the battle had been bothering him. Illidan slowly touched the scar on his abdomen that the Lich King had left behind. Suddenly, the door had burst open, and a guard came running in.

"Sir! Lady Vashj has arrived, and requests your presence downstairs." The red tinted orc stood there with a nervous look on his face. The guards around here were so full of fear, nothing worthy of being called an army.

"Tell her I'll be with her momentarily." The guard nodded and turned to exit the room. "Oh, and one more thing. If you ever run into this room again without announcing yourself again, I'll personally burn your soul for the next millennium." The guard gulped, bowed, then exited the room. Illidan walked to the other side of the room where a giant stone marked with runes stood. He waved his hand over one of the glyphs, and the stone started glowing green. Then the room suddenly was covered in shadow. "My master... Vashj has just arrived, and I believe that she has it with her. What am I to do?"

Then a voice so deep and thundering spoke, which shook the room. "Just take possession of it, and await further instructions. Soon, very soon, I will be resurrected. Do not fail me Illidan, my patience grows thin."

"Of course, my lord. With your presence with us on the battlefield, this victory will be ours." The glow faded, and Illidan turned and exited the room. He walked down the corridor and as he passed, the guards bowed to him. He pitied them, really. Soon he would replace these orcs with an army worthy of a god. All he needed was some help from his "lord", and it would be done. He reached the end of the hall and pushed the door open and proceeded into the main hall. He instantly saw about fifty naga, who all surrounded Vashj. Her elegant curves and smooth (if they could be called that) scales attracted many male naga. Illidan saw her as an abomination of her former glory. He reached the meeting table, and sat at the head of it. Vashj stared at him with a grin.

"Good evening, master. I've brought you what you asked for." She waved her hand and the main doors swung open, and hundreds of naga were dragging in a massive stone pile. Illidan's eyes glowed with an extreme inner fire.

"Finally", he said. "The great one's body. Sargeras will be resurrected." With that, Illidan's dark plans to rule Azeroth were set into motion.


End file.
